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Thera 4.6: Senaka
Tipitaka >> Sutta Pitaka >> Khuddaka Nikaya >> Theragatha >> Thera(191):Senaka Adapted from the Archaic Translation by Mrs. C.A.F. Rhys Davids. Commentary (Atthakatha) By Acariya Dhammapala Note: 'C' in Pali text is pronounced as 'ch' as in 'China'. ---- Chapter IV. Four Verses =191. Senaka= Reborn in this Buddha-age in a brahmin(priest) family, as the son of the sister of the Thera Kassapa of Uruvela, he was named Senaka.1 When he had learnt the brahmins(priests) ' Vedic 181 culture, he lived with his family. And at that time the people held a festival every year in the former half of March (Phaggūna),2 and a baptizing at the landing-stage,3 the festival being called the Gayā-Lent. Then the Exalted One(Buddha), out of compassion for those who could be led, stayed near that riverside. And when the people assembled, Senaka came too, and hearing the Lord(Buddha) teaching the Path(Dhamma), achieved Sotapana(first samadhi of Nirvana), entered the Monk’s order, and in due course won arahantship(enlightenment). Thereafter, reflecting on his victory, ho was filled with joy, and breathed forth this saying(gatha): ---- 287 Svāgataɱ vata me āsi gayāyaɱ gayāphagguyā,|| Yaɱ addasāsiɱ sambuddhaɱ desentaɱ dhammamuttamaɱ.|| || 288 Mahappabhaɱ gaṇācariyaɱ aggappattaɱ vināyakaɱ,|| Sadevakassa lekassa jinaɱ atuladassanaɱ.|| || 289 Mahānāgaɱ mahāvīraɱ mahājutimanasavaɱ,|| Sabbāsavaparikkhīṇaɱ satthāramakutobhayaɱ.|| || 290 Cirasaŋkiliṭṭhaɱ vata maɱ diṭṭhisandānasanditaɱ,|| Vimocayī so bhagavā sabbaganthehi senakan' ti.|| || ---- 287 O welcome was to me that day of spring, When at Gayā, at Gayā's river-feast, I saw the Buddha teach the Path(Dhamma) supreme, 288 Saw the great Light, Teacher of multitudes, Him who has won the highest, Guide of all, The Conqueror of men and gods, unrivalled Seer. 289 Mighty magician, Lord glorious, Far-shining splendour, pure, immune of mind,4 The Lord(Buddha) who has killed all āsavas, And has attained that where no fear can come.5 290 Long lay I bound and harassed by the ties Of sect and dogma - ah! but now it is He, The Blessed Lord(Buddha) has rescued Senaka From every bond and set at liberty. ---- 1 Brahmins(priests) of this name are in Jāt., iii., No. 401; vi., No. 546. For the uncle's saying(gatha), see CCX. 2 Phaggūna, or Phalguna, fell half in February, half in March. 3 Titthābhiseka. What sort of 'baptizing' - lit., sprinkling - went on, whether of infants, scholars, or of religious confession, it is not easy to divine. According to Böhtlingk and Roth's Dictionary, the river (Nerañjara) itself was known as the Phalgu. Dr. Neumann says the town of Gayā is itself so called (Majjh.-Nik., translation, x. 271. Cf. the very suggestive photograph in the Sisters, p. 134, of a modern riverside gathering at Gayā. 4 Anāsava. The Thera here repeats himself a little. 5 A frequent epithet of Nibbāna. ---- =4.6 191 Commentary on the stanza of Senakatthera= The stanza starting with Svāgataṃ vata constitutes that of the venerable Senake. What is the origin? This one also having done devoted deeds of service toward former Buddhas, accumulating acts of merit in this and that existence, was reborn in a family home, at the time of the Blessed One Sikhi; on having attained the age of intelligence, he, one day, happened to have seen the Master, became pious-minded and made his reverential offering of a hand of a peacock (mArahantthena) to the Blessed One. On account of that act of merit, he wandered about his rounds of repeated rebirths among divine and human beings and sprang up in a brahmin family when this Buddha arose, taking his conception in the womb of the sister of the thera Uruvela Kassapa. His name was Senaka. On having come of age, he reached perfection in the arts and sciences of the brahmins and lived a household life. At that time also, the multitude of men, enjoying, yearly, the feast in the month of March (phagguna) at the time of the lunar mansion of Uttaraphagguna, made the consecration of a landing place at Gaya; on tha account, they speak of that feast as “Gayāphaggu.” Then the Blessed One dwelt near the landing place of Gaya on such a day as that feast day, out of compassion for those who are accessible to His instruction (veneyya). The multitude of men also went towards that place from here and there with their significance of consecrating the landing place. At that moment Senaka also approached that site for the purpose of consecrating the landing place, saw the Master, who was teaching the truth (dhamma), approached Him, listened to the truth (dhamma), aptly gained pious faith, became a monk, and doing his duty of developing spiritual insight (vipassanā) attained Arahantship, but before long. Hence, has it been said in the Apadāna.- “Having caught hold of a peacock’s hand, I approached the Leader of the world. Pious-minded and good hearted I offered (Him) the peacock’s hand. By means of this peacock’s hand, as well as on account of my volition (cetanā) and self-resolution, the three fires became extinguished; I did gain bountiful bliss. Wonderful is Buddha and dhamma; wonderful is for me the prosperity of the Master; having given (to Him) the peacock’s hand, I did gain bountiful bliss. My three fires had been extinguished all (my) existences had been eliminated; all (my) cankers had been all-round destroyed; now there does not exist any new existence. It was thirty one aeons (kappa) ago that I then offered charity; I do not remember any evil existence; this is the fruitful result of the peacock’s hand. My depravity had been burnt. … Buddha’s instruction had been carried out.” Having however, attained Arahantship, he reflected over his own proper performance (paṭipatti) became well delilghted and spoke four stanzas, by way of joyous utterance.- 287. “Indeed, it was my good going (svāgata); It was near the landing place of Gaya at the time of Gayaphagguthat I saw the self- awakened Buddha teaching the most excellent truth (dhamma). 288. “He was of great splendour (pabhā), the teacher of crowded assembly of monks, who had attained His foremost height, the dis- ciplinarian, the conqueror and the peerless sight of the world, together with the divine world. 289. “He was a great elephant (among Arahants) a great hero, a great glory and free from cankers: he was one whose cankers had all been totally destroyed, the Master with no danger from anywhere. 290. “That Blessed One made me, Senaka, escape from all fetters, me, who, indeed, was long self-depraved and bound by the bondage of (wrong) views. There, Svāgataṃ vata me āsi means: indeed, it was well-reached by me; in other words, indeed, my coming was excellent. Gayāyaṃ means: near the landing place of Gaya. Gayaphagguyā means: at the feast of the lunar mansion of Uttaraphagguyā of the month of March (phagguna) in the terminology gained as: “Gayāphaggu.” The expression beginning with “Yaṃ” shows the cause of the condition of having gone well. There Yam means since (yasmā). Addasāsiṃ means: I saw. Sambuddham means: Self-awakened Buddha because of the state of His knowledge of all truths (dhamma) by Himself, excellently. Desentaṃ dhammamuttamaṃ means: who was speaking the most excellent, foremost, best of all truth (dhamma) which is surely (ekanta) salutary (niyyānika), commensurate with the intention of those who were amenable to discipline (veneyya). Mahappabhaṃ means: possessed of great gleam of His body and of His knowledge. Gaṇācariyaṃ means: the teacher of the congregation (gaṇa) by having the conduct (ācāra) well trained, by the most excellent taming of such crowds (gaṇa) as the assembly of monks and so on. Aggapattaṃ means: who had attained top-most by the achievement of such qualifications as moral precepts and so on which had become foremost. Vināyakaṃ means: the disciplinarian, because of the condition of being bereft of a leader for Himself; owing to having led and disciplined such creatures as divine, human, etc., by means of absolute (parama) discipline. Sadevakassa lokassa jinaṃ means: the conqueror of the world, the foremost conqueror in the world along with the divine world: atuladassanaṃ means: peerless looking because of the condition of peerless looking (atuladasana), owing to the state of immeasurable looking, by people of the world together with the divine world, because of the condition of His bodily beauty, adorned with thirty two excellent major marks (lakkhaṇa) and eithty minor marks (anubyañjana) etc., and owing to the state of His spiritual (dhamma) body (kāya) adorned with such qualities as ten kinds of strength (bala), fourfold self-confidence (vesārajja). Mahānāgaṃ means: the great elephant because of the state of His great power, among the canker-free Arahants who are also elephants, and because He resembles an enormous elephant on account of such sorts of prosperity as going (gati), vigour (bala), effort and so on. Mahāvīraṃ means: a great hero because of the condition of being highly heroic on account of not being clearly crushed (avimathana) by the army of Māra. Mhājutiṃ means: great gleam (patāpa) and great glory (teja); thus, is the meaning. Anāsavaṃ means: free from cankers, to this one there do not exist four forms of cankers. Sabbāsavaparikkhiṇaṃ means: to this one, all the cankers along with their proclivities (vāsanā) had been all-round destroyed. As a matter of fact (kāmaṃ), the disciples of Buddha and silent buddhas are but canker-free (khīḷnāsava) Arahants; but omniscient Buddhas only, however, had their cankers thrown away along with their proclivities; thus, having said: “Anāsavaṃ, cankerfree,” again statement has been made thus; “Sabbāsava parikkhinaṃ, all cankers had been totally destroyed,” for the purpose of showing (the distinct difference). On that account the said statement has been made thus: “Sabbe āsavā savāsanā parikkhiṇa etassā ti sabbāsava-parikkhīṇaṃ.” Sattharaṃ means: Master, because He instructed such creatures as are amenable to discipline and to be led out of saṃsāra (veneyyānaṃ) according to their being worthy with absolute (parama) advantagerous meaning (attha) pertaining to the present and the future. Akutobhayaṃ means: free from danger, owing to the absence of danger from any and everywhere also because of the state of His self-confidence enumerated as four forms of the state of self-confidence (vesarajja); since I saw such a One as the well-self-awakened Buddha, therefore, indeed, there was to me the condition of having gone well (svāgataṃ); thus, is the interpretation. Now, he spoke the fourth stanza in order to show the quality gained by himself by his seeing the Master. The meaning of that stanza is:– Cirasaṃkilitthaṃ means: depraved for a long time, in the rounds of repeated rebirths (saṃsāra) with no beginning and end (anamatagga) by the realities (vatthu) of self-depravity similar to a gourd (lābu) shell brimful of sour rice-gruel (kaṅjiya), like unto a vessel bearing butter-milk (takka), resembling a rag (pilotika) saturated with (pīta) grease (vasā). Diṭṭhisandāneṇa bandhitaṃ means: bound by the bondage of wrong view (diṭṭhi), at the pillar (thambha) of egoism (sakkāya), similar to a dog (sārameya) bound (bandhitaṃ) by leather straps (gaddula). Sabbaganthehi maṃ Senakaṃ vimocayi vata so Bhagava means: he acknowledges his immense pleasing piousness in the Blessed One saying; my Master, by His hand of noble path (magga), had me set free from that (fetter) of such character as unfair covetousness (abhijjhā). The Commentary on the stanza of the Thera Senaka is complete. ----